From Research to Startup: Inside Lehigh’s Venture Studio

University research can lead to promising discoveries, but turning those discoveries into viable businesses takes more than technical expertise. Someone must identify a real market need, test whether the technology can meet it, and determine whether a startup makes sense.

How can universities evaluate early-stage research and build a path from discovery to commercialization without asking researchers to become entrepreneurs themselves?

In Episode 14 of The AiCR Exchange, Joe Furlong speaks with Chris Kauzmann of Lehigh University’s Venture Studio about a model designed to answer that question. The Venture Studio brings together experienced entrepreneurs, students, faculty, and other advisors to assess research, investigate potential markets, and prepare promising opportunities for startup founders. Their conversation covers customer discovery, the role of AI tools in market research, Lehigh’s decision to evaluate technologies across different fields, and why deciding not to pursue an opportunity can be a valuable outcome.

Why is it difficult to turn university research into a business?

A research discovery is not necessarily a product or service that a customer is ready to buy. It may be technically promising, but its commercial potential still needs to be established.

Kauzmann explains that large companies may be reluctant to license research at a very early stage because the technology can be too unproven or risky. A company might be more interested after a startup has developed the idea and demonstrated its potential. That creates a challenge for universities: how can they help research move from the lab toward a business that is ready to grow?

One common approach is to ask the faculty member behind the research to start a company. But a leading researcher may have little experience with hiring, raising capital, building a business model, or conducting customer discovery. Taking on those responsibilities can also pull the researcher away from the work they are best positioned to do.

Lehigh’s Venture Studio takes a different approach. Rather than expecting faculty to manage every part of the startup process, it first assembles a team to evaluate the research and determine whether a viable business opportunity exists.

How does Lehigh’s Venture Studio evaluate research for commercial potential?

The Venture Studio acts as a pre-incubator. Its first job is to assess whether a discovery has a plausible business model and could be developed into a product or service.

The teams combine different perspectives. Experienced entrepreneurs, called venture architects, contribute startup experience. Students take on roles in coordination and analysis, while faculty provide knowledge of the research itself. The student analysts help investigate markets and assess whether a genuine opportunity may exist.

The team’s work includes identifying the problem a technology could solve, understanding who might need it, examining the potential market, and considering what it would take to build a company around it.

When an opportunity looks promising, the team prepares what Kauzmann calls a “startup package.” This combines the technology with business analysis, potential customer lists, capital needs, and team requirements. The package can then help the Venture Studio identify a founder whose experience fits the opportunity.

The goal is to complete important early business analysis before a company is formed, giving a prospective founder a clearer starting point.

What does customer discovery look like in practice?

Customer discovery helps a team find out whether a technology addresses a real need and whether potential customers have a reason to use or buy it. The Venture Studio applies these questions to research that already exists, rather than starting with a customer problem and then inventing a solution.

Kauzmann describes an early project involving a faculty member who had developed a way to manufacture a particular type of nanoparticle. The particles had potential uses in several areas, but the team focused on a more immediate question: was there a business opportunity in producing them?

The researcher had already been sending the particles to colleagues who had difficulty obtaining them elsewhere. The team followed up with customer interviews and found evidence of demand. It then assembled a startup package covering the technology and the business requirements.

The Venture Studio recruited a Lehigh alumnus to serve as a founder. That founder formed a company with the faculty member, and they began working through the process of licensing the technology.

The example illustrates why technical possibility and commercial viability are different questions. The team needed to investigate whether customers wanted the capability, whether the technology could be supplied in a practical way, and whether a company could be built around it.

How are AI tools changing the way the Venture Studio works?

AI tools are helping the team research unfamiliar technologies and markets, explore possible applications, and carry out analysis that previously required more people and time.

Because the Venture Studio evaluates research from across the university, its teams cannot begin as experts in every field. They need ways to learn enough about an unfamiliar area to identify useful questions and decide where to investigate further.

Kauzmann says students often introduce tools they have discovered and suggest ways to use them. Their examples range from taking meeting notes and organizing follow-up tasks to supporting research, market analysis, and development work.

The team is also using these tools to rethink how broadly it can evaluate technologies. Rather than limiting its work to a single industry, Lehigh has chosen to remain open to research across the university. AI tools may help the team build an initial understanding of different fields, while its alumni network can provide specialized insight when an opportunity warrants a closer look.

Kauzmann presents this approach as something the team is testing, not a guarantee that every technology can be evaluated quickly or successfully. The tools help with the work, but the team still has to judge whether an opportunity is real.

Why does Lehigh evaluate research across different industries?

Some venture studios focus on a particular industry or technology area. Lehigh has chosen a broader approach because its research spans many fields, and it does not want to limit its evaluation process to one category.

That choice also addresses a gap Kauzmann has seen in entrepreneurship education. Students who want to start businesses often begin with problems they already know from daily life. They may not be familiar with needs in areas such as industrial applications, health, agriculture, or space, even when university research could have relevance there.

By starting with faculty discoveries, the Venture Studio gives students a way to explore problems and potential markets beyond their existing experience. Students can learn about a technology, investigate where it might be useful, and determine whether there is a business case.

Lehigh’s university-wide approach also makes entrepreneurship accessible across different academic backgrounds. Students do not have to be business majors to participate in entrepreneurial work. The aim is to connect research, business thinking, and student talent across the university.

How does the Venture Studio handle risk and unsuccessful ideas?

Not every technology will become a company, and the Venture Studio treats that as a normal part of evaluating opportunities.

Kauzmann says students are told from the beginning that a project may end with a decision not to proceed. The point is not to make every idea succeed. It is to find out whether a real opportunity exists and to avoid moving forward simply because a technology is interesting.

This requires a balance. A team should not abandon an idea at the first obstacle, but it also should not keep pursuing an opportunity when the evidence does not support it. Customer research and market analysis help the team make a more informed decision.

Kauzmann affirms Lehigh leaderships’ support for taking risks and learning from experiments that do not work. That gives the team room to test uncertain ideas rather than limiting its work to projects that appear likely to succeed from the outset.

For a university trying to commercialize research, a well-supported “no” can save time and effort. It can also help the team focus its resources on discoveries with stronger evidence of market potential.

Frequently Asked Questions About Commercializing University Research

What is a university venture studio?

A university venture studio evaluates research and intellectual property for possible business opportunities. At Lehigh, the team investigates market potential and develops startup packages before recruiting founders to build companies around promising technologies.

How is a venture studio different from asking a researcher to start a company?

Rather than expecting the researcher to manage the full startup process, Lehigh’s model brings in experienced entrepreneurs and student teams to assess the commercial opportunity, research the market, and prepare the business requirements. The faculty member can contribute their technical expertise while the team explores the business case.

What is customer discovery in technology commercialization?

Customer discovery involves investigating the needs of potential customers to determine whether a technology solves a problem they care about. In the Venture Studio’s process, interviews and market research help the team assess whether a research discovery could support a viable business.

Does every project need to become a startup?

No. The Venture Studio is designed to determine whether a business opportunity exists, and some projects may not move forward. Identifying a lack of commercial potential is considered a useful outcome because it helps the team make decisions based on evidence.

How do AI tools support early-stage startup research?

In the Venture Studio’s work, AI tools can support research, market analysis, meeting notes, and team coordination. They can help students investigate technologies across different fields, while the team still needs to evaluate the evidence and determine whether an opportunity is commercially viable.